Thursday, May 30, 2013

Liza interviews Pippa Jay-Gethyon

Hello peeps. Today we interview Pippa Jay about her book Gethyon.

Peep Rep: Is that a dragon?

Liza: No, it's a boy.

Peep Rep: Sounds like a dragon.

Liza: Trust me Peep Rep, you don't want to piss this boy off. He carries major weaponry.

Peep Rep: Oh! It's a truly lovely moniker. My favorite name ever.

Liza: Wise change of face. Here's Pippa Jay. Welcome to my humble abode.

Pippa: Glad to be here.

Peep Rep: You have feathers...are you part bird?

Liza: Pippa, I've only one rule: No talking to Peep Rep.

Pippa: Then why do you let him ask me questions?

Liza: Let him? I have no control of Peep Rep. My followers elected him. They are entirely responsible for him. Now let's move on to your interview. What is your favorite part of writing?

Pippa: Creating new worlds and characters. Who wouldn't love that?! Not that I have any god-like delusions of power or anything... :P

Liza: Actually, I find creating characters removes all delusion of power. I plan for them to do XYZ and they blow me off and do LMOP and end with a W. 

Pippa: Oh, I've had that too. But ultimately I get the final say in their fate. Bwah-ha-haaa!

Liza: Maybe I should develop an evil laugh like yours to scare them into submission. I'll work on that. In the meantime, is there anything you don’t like about being a writer?

Pippa: Some of the weird attitudes or reactions you get from people when you tell them you’re an author. Some think you must be incredibly rich and famous, then think you can't be a proper author if your book isn't on the shelves of their local bookshop. Or they don't realize how much work actually goes into a book, and that it's not a week's worth of tapping away at a computer, off to your publisher and out the following week, so when you say your book won't be out until up to a year later, they're confused.

Liza: Yeah, I used to wonder why authors took so long between books. I thought all the fame gave them writer's block

Pippa: My poor husband sees it as some kind of insanity that he hopes is temporary. 

Liza: You probably shouldn't have said that.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS - No time to fact check.

Pippa Jay's husband has declared Pippa Temporarily Insane. He's searching for an asylum built like a spaceship to beam her up to.

Pippa: What was that? 

Liza: Ignore those. They never get their facts right. You were saying...

Pippa: Fortunately, the more contracts and sales I get, the more he's been persuaded that this *is* a proper job, and not just some hobby I spend too much time on. 

Liza: What do your kids think about your writing.

Pippa: My kids thought it was boring, until their teachers showed an interest - now they think it's cool, and eldest wants to be a writer too.

Liza: Well you have to admit watching someone write a novel is right up there with watching paint dry--unless you are the type who acts out the scenes as you write.

Pippa: Er… *looks shifty*

Liza: What's the best piece of advice anyone has ever offered you about writing?

Pippa: Get it writ. Worry about fixing the issues/typos/phrasing after the first draft is done.

Liza: Excellent 'showing'! Get it writ, indeed!
Now what part of your book took you most out of your comfort zone?

Pippa: Writing the technology. I love tech but I'm always worried I'll get the science wrong and someone will pick me up on it. It's been a long time since I did Physics at school.

Liza: Well, if you are basing your physics on what we believed ten years back, you have reason to fear. Honestly, they should only allow ebook physic texts, with daily downloads changing the 'facts'.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS- no time to fact check.

Liza O'Connor wants all students to fail Physics by testing them on constantly changing complex realities that they've never read because they didn't exist until 1 minute before the test.

Liza: See how I ignore the reports? What part of your book was the hardest to write?

Pippa: Killing one of the secondary characters.

Liza: Yeah, that's really hard. I did it once, then went into months of mourning, finally returning to my story and bringing my character back to life. I just couldn't go on without him. It turns out I loved the ugly mug.

So how'd you come up with this story? 

Pippa: The main character had been in the back of my mind for years, ever since I'd decided my heroine from another set of stories would have a family. But it wasn't until I'd had my debut novel contracted that he really took shape in my head. I had a few ideas of what I wanted. There were going to be spaceships - SPACESHIPS!! - and more technology, and I based the earlier sections on my son, who was the same age as my young hero at the time. And a certain Tatooine farmboy had a lot of influence too.

Liza: What's a Tatooine?

Pippa:*reminds self that not everyone is a Star Wars fanatic* It’s a planet with a binary sun. Home to Luke Skywalker. *dreamy smile*

Liza: Describe both the heroine and hero and let us guess which is which: 

Pippa: One is Frustrated. Adventurous. Smart. Strong. Resolute.
The other is: Loyal. Guilt-ridden. Fiery. Altruistic. Wise.

Liza: Okay, Peeps. This is test to see if you really are reading my excessively long blogs. Which is which?  Here's my call: The first list matches me exactly, so I'm guessing that's me and the second one sounds like my dog, Jess.

Pippa: You really are as bad as I was warned.

Liza. Thanks. So who's your favorite character in the book?

Pippa: I love Jinx, my bounty hunter. She's small and sassy, and despite being one of the bad guys I can't really hate her. There's so much more to her than readers will see in this particular story.

Liza: I'm hearing Sequel!

How would you describe your relationship with your muse? 

Pippa: Our relationship? Tempestuous! She's easily distracted, capricious, and as hard to pin down as catching dandelion fluff in a tornado. But I've found she dislikes housework even more than I do, so if she isn't playing ball, that's what I do. 

Liza: Have you ever required intervention?

Pippa: Intervention? No. Maybe the odd restraining order. :P

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS- no time to fact check

Pippa Jay has taken out a restraining order against her muse because she refused to do housework while Pippa played ball. 


Pippa: Lol, if they're like the Thermians from Galaxy Quest, I guess I'd have to tell them I tell lies. But I hope they have a better translator than Google Translate or we could be in trouble!

Liza: Well, that concludes my interview. Let's get to your book.

Peep Rep: Glad I took back my dragon comment. So what's the book about?



Liza: Don't ask me. I have read the book yet.

Peep Rep: That's because  the blurb is for a book not yet released.

Liza: Oh...nevermind. Maybe we have an excerpt:

He couldn’t move. His feet seemed pinned to the floor, his muscles locked into rigid immobility. The Siah-dhu howled at him, their voice leeching all will and all power from him. Despite the sparks of power within him, the darkness writhed through his gut, gnawing with jagged teeth as it twisted though his mind. It was hunger magnified a thousand times, as if the vacuum of space had opened up inside him. He fell to his knees.

Gethyon. Not quite a voice, not quite any sound he had ever heard, the Siah-dhu called his name. The roiling mass drew closer. A chill gale blasted over him and snatched all the breath and warmth from him, sucking the life out of him.

“No.” The single word snatched him back from the edge. He hadn’t come so far or lost so much to surrender. As the Siah-dhu pulsed toward him intent on his consumption, he forced himself up again and turned his back on the shadows. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, to resist that pull into oblivion. The edges of the black cloud twined around him, incorporeal fingers striving to grasp him, seething forward to swallow him…

The world disappeared.

Peep Rep: Wow, that's a great excerpt! When is this book coming out?

Pippa: Thanks, Peep Rep! The 3rd June. *excited bounce* Oh, whoops, forgot I’m not meant to talk to you…

Liza: Pippa! You only had one rule to follow: Don't talk to Peep Rep.

Pippa: Sorry, it turns out harder than I thought.

Liza: Here's stalking, or should I say: staulking, links if you want to follow our fine feathered friend.

Website  Blog   Goodreads    Twitter    Facebook    Google+

And her bio:


Liza: I love British authors, their voice has such a soothing accent. So leave a comment and maybe Pippa will respond with a British comment. 


  1. Thanks for having me, Liza. (sorry we couldn't chat, Peep Rep, shhh!)

    1. Pippa! That was a direct violation of my ONE rule. What is so hard about following ONE rule to not talk to Pep Rep?

    2. Pippa, Thank you for talking to me. It makes me feel empowered. Now if Gethyon will let me use his gun, I will take control of these blogs and become master of the universe.

    3. Peep rep, I did not give you permission to write in the comments!

    4. How'd you know it was me?

    5. Because you didn't leave a 'check my website' spam address nor your name. People who actually want to state something meaningful usually leave their name. Spammers leave a stupid message and their website.

    6. Liza, I am so sorry! I didn't think it would count if I put it in comments. *hangs head in shame*

  2. Fantastic, funny, smart interview :-D I'm looking forward to this book muchly! :-)

    1. Glad you enjoyed the interview. This book does sound good, and I'm not just saying that because Gethyon carries are really big gun.

  3. A great interview Liza and Pippa! I've already pre-ordered my copy of this book. Not long now. Best of luck, Pippa! :)

    1. Thank you Jessica. I wonder if I can pre-order a copy to. Let me go try.

  4. Loved the interview, ladies!!! I so know what you mean about Luke! *dreamy smile indeed* teehee Fantastic excerpt! Can't wait to buy my copy!! :D

  5. Great interview and advice-Just get it writ!! Tweeted


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